


What There Is To Really See

by ladadadi



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Multi, Pre-Threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 21:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13373658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladadadi/pseuds/ladadadi
Summary: In which Keyleth has an idea.





	What There Is To Really See

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this about a year ago and never got around to finishing it, so I'm just posting it as is. I actually started this before I even got to the Conclave arc, which means that the time frame is uhhhhh undefined. 
> 
> Heads up that there is semi-sexual contact between Keyleth and Gilmore; if that bothers you, you'll probably want to give this fic a miss.

As usual, Shaun is restless.

It's not like he doesn't have a million things to do, what with rebuilding two different locations. Yet Shaun sits in the Emon stockroom drumming his fingers against his thigh. Rather than taking inventory as intended, he's just staring through the beaded curtain at the door.

Vox Machina is back in town and Vax still hasn't come to see him.

Logically it makes sense. Agreeing to stay friends isn't the same as _actually_ staying friends, even after horror and trauma, and Shaun was the one who had been rejected. Now that things are getting back to normal, Vax is probably trying to respect his space. Vex had said as much when she and Scanlan dropped by earlier in the week to re-stock, as much as she and her damned brother ever say anything outright. Shaun has grown fluent in shoulder shrugs and head tilts and half-smiles from half-elves, and Vex had been apologizing. Not that it matters! Vax is his own man, with his own path in life, and Shaun is hardly the type to moon over what could have been. He may not be a stranger to heartbreak, but nor is he unattractive, he flatters himself, and he's always had skill with charisma, so it’s not as if he wouldn’t be able to hop back on the wagon, as it were—

His train of thought is interrupted by the shop door opening and a tall, redheaded druid walking through it. She greets Sherri nervously—Sherri gives her a coldly courteous nod, Shaun does _so_ appreciate her loyalty—and glances around before she says something else. Shaun imagines she's asking after a book or an ingredient and is looking around to make sure he isn't going to spring out at her, but Sherri's mouth twists the way it does when she's weighing an offer. Keyleth asks again, earnest, and after a moment Sherri sighs and points to the beaded curtain.

This is unexpected. Shaun is immediately intrigued.

Keyleth parts the curtain with both hands and smiles in a way that doesn't quite mask the worry in her eyes. "Hey, Gilmore."

"Keyleth," Shaun purrs in response, reclining back against a wooden crate as if it's a chaise lounge. "How may I assist you, darling?" 

There's a petty thrill that runs through him when she flinches at that word, but she takes a deep breath and presses on. "I was wondering if, well, if we could—I just thought that—maybe we could, you know, chat. A little. About, like...well. Vax." 

Shaun smiles his most professional smile. "Certainly. I'm afraid we're all out of potions of _endurance_ at the moment, but there's a shop down the street that specializes in that sort of thing."

Keyleth pinks, and a high, awkward laugh forces its way out of her throat. "No, that's not—" She sighs. "I'm sorry, I've gone about this all wrong." 

"Ah!" Shaun rolls gracefully up onto his feet and begins digging in the box he'd just been leaning against. "A potion of lubrication, is it? Luckily we just got a few in this shipment, I should have known to order both types at once—"

"Shaun," rings Keyleth's voice, "you know he's still in love with you, right?"

Everything comes to a dizzying stop. Shaun feels a swell in his chest that is equal parts joy and fury, and he squashes it viciously down. Face hidden from view, he takes a deep breath before he rights himself with that pleasant smile still on his face. "I beg your pardon?"

Vox Machina must have instructed Keyleth in the art of deception at some point, but it clearly does not come naturally to her. The sadness is clear on her face when she says, "Vax'ildan is in love with you, Gilmore, but he thinks he can't be. He thinks he has to choose."

Shaun's blood runs cold. "And he chose you," he says delicately, the edges of his words sharp enough to cut. "Congratulations, my dear. You've won the prize."

Keyleth frowns at him. "That's not what I meant."

"Well then, my apologies," Shaun grits through his smile, "because for a moment it sounded like you were coming here to _brag._ ”

Keyleth's spine stiffens. "Actually, I was coming here to see if you'd like to join us," she snaps. For the second time in as many minutes, time stutters.  "But it looks like I was wrong, so I guess I'll just be going now." She turns to leave but is stopped short when the beaded curtain snaps into a solid wall. 

"Wait," Shaun says.

Keyleth hesitates. Then she turns back.

There is a beat, and then: ”I’m sorry," they both say. Keyleth gives him a shy grin, her eyes a bit wet. Shaun doesn't quite smile back, but he asks, "What do you mean, join you?"

"You know, like...." Keyleth does a filthy hand gesture that she must have learned from Grog or Scanlan.

"Oh," says Shaun.

Keyleth sighs again. "Look, I don't want you to feel...I don't know, pressured, I guess. You're a handsome man, but there's never really been an attraction between us." She winces, belated. "Sorry."

"No, you're right." The corner of Shaun's mouth twists up. "You're a beautiful woman, Keyleth, but you're not to my, ah, usual taste."

"At least we're on the same page," she says wryly. "But Vax...."

"Vax," Shaun agrees. They both spend a moment in appreciative silence. "Have you...discussed it?" he asks. 

Keyleth shakes her head. "He'd never admit to it anyway. Like I said, he thinks he has to choose."

"But you don't." 

Keyleth shrugs. “The Ashari aren't known to be big on monogamy.” She hesitates a moment, then says, "The two of us...we haven't talked about it, really, but I think it crosses some kind of line for him. You know how insecure he is about being untrustworthy, his background and all. He still thinks I'm going to wake up one day and realize I've made a mistake."

Shaun eyes her appraisingly. To hear Vax's secrets so plain is not what he would expect from her, and yet. "So," he says. "How do you want to do this?"

—

Keyleth's room is almost exactly what Shaun expected it to be. A cozy fire, plants on the windowsill, bolts of fabric draped everywhere. Somehow, though, he hadn't anticipated the casual signs of Vax's presence. A leather tie for his hair on the nightstand, old boots kicked into the corner. It's intimate. Shaun likes it.

"Can I get you anything?" Keyleth keeps asking, as if a biscuit and a cup of tea will make this any less strange. She gulped down a mug of ale when they first arrived and her cheeks are still flushed, though that may be with anticipation. They don't know when Vax will return; honestly, Shaun is expecting him to just appear out of nowhere as is his usual wont. While they wait, Shaun has perched himself upon a chair that seems to have been shaped directly from a tree rather than carved. Keyleth keeps sitting down and then springing up again to pace around the room. 

On her fifth circuit, Shaun sighs loudly. "Keyleth," he says, "what can I do to put you at ease?"

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," is her answer, words tumbling out like she's been trying not to say them. She immediately looks guilty. 

“Perhaps," Shaun agrees. "Would you like me to leave?"

"No," she says quickly, looking a little surprised at herself. "I mean, unless you want to?"

"No." Shaun pauses for a moment, then stands. She watches him walk towards her, wide-eyed and curious. He stops in front of her, and her head tips back a little even though they're the same height. 

Shaun cups her face in his hands and kisses her. 

He can feel her cheeks heat under his palms, but she leans into it, rests tentative hands on his waist. Her lips are a little chapped around the edges, her body warm and solid where it presses against his. Shaun pulls back after a lingering moment, and her eyes flutter before settling back on his face. He asks, "Okay?"

"Yeah," Keyleth says, flushed but smiling. "Yes, yes, okay." Shaun kisses her again. She's bolder this time with her hands sliding up his back and grabbing at his robe. He lets her tug it off his shoulders and a flick of his fingers folds it neatly over the back of the chair. Keyleth's hold feels stronger through only the thin cotton of his shirt, and he slides his hand into her hair to grip at the back of her head, to pull her closer until her mouth opens—

He thinks the gasp is hers, until she pulls away and stares over his shoulder. He turns, and Vax'ildan is there. 

That they hadn't heard Vax open the door is a testament to his stealth. That he was shocked enough to drop out of it sends a spark of heat through Shaun's veins. 

"Vax," Keyleth says, and reaches for him. Vax doesn't move forward, but he doesn't pull away either. "Love," she repeats, quieter, "come here." Vax's eyes flick to Shaun's, and he raises an eyebrow, challenging. 

Vax comes.


End file.
